When I was 25, I signed up for a 10k Race for Life event around Althorp Estate. I didn’t really know what I was doing and by the end of the course I was absolutely broken. ‘This is definitely the furthest I can possibly run, I’m just not built for anything longer,’ I told myself as I crawled past the finish line.
I didn’t really run again for the next 10 years, and it wasn’t until 2017 that I started going out a couple of times a week for a short loop along the Grand Union Canal in Market Harborough. I couldn’t run up Burnmill Hill but I could usually get as far as the grit bin! Fast forward six years and I found myself at the start line of Ultra X Tanzania facing a 250km five-day race, including a good chunk of Mount Kilimanjaro. Things had escalated. Gradually, over the past few years, I have fallen in love with ultra running. Ultra running is any distance over a marathon and is usually cross country through fields and up mountains, carrying your food and water with you. It is much more relaxed than road running, as there is a lot of run-walking involved, and the focus is on getting to the end rather than completing in a particular time. Ultra running is a mental challenge as much as a physical one, but it’s also an opportunity to be immersed in the countryside. In 2021 and 2022, I ran a couple of 100km events over two days – one in Snowdonia, the other in the Lake District. So, when I spotted the opportunity to run for five consecutive days in Africa (my favourite continent) I couldn’t resist. I signed up for Ultra x Tanzania in June 2022 knowing I had a year to prepare. Then disaster struck. Just days after my 42nd birthday in September 2022, I ran a 50 mile race in Yorkshire, breaking my toe on a tree root at mile 18. I completed the course, but I was then out of action for three months. Fortunately, by New Year my toe had heeled and my training started in earnest. My family were extremely patient as I disappeared at weekends to run for 10 hours. At the peak of my training I was running 175km a week and had discovered just about every footpath within a 20 mile radius of Market Harborough. I decided that this challenge was such a big undertaking that I would like to use it to raise money for charity. We had been hosting two Ukrainian refugees since August 2022, so I had some understanding of what it is like to be displaced from your home country. I chose the International Rescue Committee as my charity, for the vital work they do on the ground to help refugees whose lives are shattered by conflict and disaster. I was delighted that I managed to surpass my target of £1,000 before the big day. So, there I stood under the blazing African sun, on the edge of the stunning Lake Chala situated on the Tanzanian plains in June this year. It was time to run (and run and run). The next five days were the most incredible experience of my life. We ran and walked through dusty grasslands, lush sunflower fields, thick baboon-filled jungles, enormous banana plantations and the picturesque farming communities at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. There were 95 people on the event and 85 completed the week. We stayed at rudimentary campsites each night, eating dehydrated meals and covering our growing number of blisters in tape each morning. Every day brought with it completely different scenery and a fresh challenge, whether it was hiking 2000m up Mount Kilimanjaro in 90 degree humidity, running across the plains in 30C degree heat or scrambling up 850 metres of rocks on the final day. Wherever we ran the local communities came out to cheer us on, giving out fist bumps or performing Mexican waves at the checkpoints. Every person we passed greeted us with smiles and hellos, as we streamed across the mesmerising landscape. For me, the hardest part wasn’t the 2am starts, the 5000m of elevation, or running day after day, – it was the finish. Back at the race hotel on day six, after completing the 250km, I was itching to go again. I will admit the post-race blues have been hard. As much as I love Market Harborough, it just can’t compete with the serenity, beauty and simplicity of Tanzania. So for now, I am just looking forward to planning my next adventure. |